Community Spirit

Beyond the territory where it is located, what truly defines a village are the people who live there and bring it to life. Their daily routines and their small habits are the heartbeat of the community, but what sets it apart even more are the unusual events, the extraordinary happenings or the extreme activities.

Five adults pose with a child seated in a small wooden racing car.

Louis Guilbault, boxcar race winner, and his family in 1980.

Despite its small population, Grondines stands out for the strength of its community involvement. Sometimes, this trait is expressed in traditional ways, such as with the Cercle des fermières, and other times in quirkier ways, such as the legendary boxcar race.

Tradition helps to nurture a sense of community in the village. Such is the case with the annual auction, where simple everyday objects are sold, alongside crafts from workshops and delicacies from the kitchen. After the traditional mass held by the river, a big pot of water is set to boil to prepare corn on the cob, and the auctioneer opens the bidding for a box of cream sugar or jelly cookies, much to the delight of the jubilant crowd.

In springtime, some villagers get up before dawn to collect Easter water from one of the streams near the church. For some, on the other hand, the best moment of Easter is the traditional—and hugely popular—breakfast served by the Fermières in the parish hall.

Red car decorated with lights and a Christmas tree on the roof. It says ‘10th Anniversary’.

10th anniversary Grondines Christmas Parade float, 2002.

While most parishes in Quebec no longer have choirs for Christmas mass, in Grondines the tradition lives on. The choir performs on Christmas Eve, right before the famous Christmas Parade that has lit up the winter night since 1992. And because Christmas also means big feasts, in 1994, the first Christmas Eve dinner was held at the Vieux Moulin restaurant. Although this tradition no longer exists, from 1996 onwards, the venue for these activities switched to the parish hall.

For 11 years, some daring souls faced the dangers of the river. In the summer of 1995, a group of volunteers organized an extraordinary race: participants had to swim across the river, between Grondines and Leclercville. While spectators were having a party on the wharf, brave men and women battled the river’s currents and tides. To ensure everyone’s safety, each swimmer was accompanied by a kayaker, and motorboats remained close by.

A swimmer, surrounded by two kayaks and four motorboats, swims across the river.

River crossing, summer 2000.

Grondines is so much more than just a village.

The Grondines Headlands The Grondines Museum